Francisco del Piero
Francisco del Piero is a Vatican priest, and the leader an Old European Union group attempting to locate the Pieces of the Golden Capstone. History Early History Francisco del Piero was born around mid 1937 to early 1938, and as he grew up he studied at a seminary school alongside Max Epper, becoming friends with each other, however the differences in their beliefs eventually led them to become estranged. Del Piero went on to join the Catholic Church, moving through their ranks and presumably learning the truth about the organisation being the former Sun Cult of Amun Ra and their servitude to the Kingdom of Land of the Four Legendary Kingdoms. He also came to know Ricardo Mendoza, who would later commend del Piero's commitment to the Church's ideals. At some point, del Piero would teach the American soldier Marshall Judah. Before Seven Ancient Wonders When the Church organised a mission to restore the Golden Capstone so that they could nullify the destruction threatened by the Tartarus sunspot and obtain worldly power, del Piero was chosen to lead the forces of the Old European Union. Assuming he was not otherwise already aware, del Piero learned that one of the Pieces had been kept by the Church at St. Peter's Basilica, while the remaining Pieces were hidden within the remnants of the seven Ancient Wonders, the locations of which were detailed in a Vatican copy of the Callimachus text. However, they required an Oracle of Siwa to translate the Word of Thoth it was written in, and so del Piero and his people began seeking out the latest Oracle. Because the Oracle had recently died, del Piero ended up having to locate his pregnant wife, Malena Okombo, and so he had here kidnapped and taken to an ancient chamber within a volcano in Uganda, in order to play out a ceremony as she went into labour (the reason for this is never mentioned, though it may have been part of an old Sun Cult tradition to make each Oracle "divine"). Once the child, a boy, was birthed, del Piero claimed him and, ignoring Malena's protests, left her to die. Over the next ten years, del Piero assisted in raising the boy, naming him Alexander after Alexander the Great, making him believe that he was being molded to be the best possible ruler for the world, when in fact del Piero was brainwashing him. It was del Piero and the Church's intention to use him in the ceremony of power, and then emerge as a new Messiah-like figure whom the Catholic Church could get people to worship. In March 2006, Alexander's ability to understand the Word of Thoth began developing, and he was able to translate the first clue in the Callimachus text, allowing del Piero and his men to determine the location of the head of the Colossus of Rhodes and its accompanying Capstone Piece was at an old mine in the Sudan. After reaching the mine, the European team began attempting to make their way through the north entrance, taking two days to make their way through the trap system to the Grand Cavern. Seven Ancient Wonders Del Piero waited as his men constructed a crane to bypass the Master Snare trap on the Scar, but was surprised when Epper and a team formed from a coalition of small nations entered the cavern and disabled his people's weapons. After noting the presence of a young girl among them, del Piero called out for Jack West Jr to surrender since they were outnumbered and more likely to perish if they activated the Master Snare. When this failed, del Piero instead attempted to appeal to Epper as an old friend, but they refused and activated the Master Snare, and so the Jesuit ordered his men to finish the crane. Ultimately, the Coalition got away, only to lose the Piece to the American CIEF force led by Cal Kallis. The Old European Union force remained largely quiet for the remainder of the week before the Tartarus Rotation, as the Coalition and American forces clashed over some of the other Pieces. Instead, del Piero had the obelisk in Paris (crucial to locating Alexander the Great's tomb) closed off from public access to impede his enemies, and ordered that the Piece in the Basilica be monitored closely, knowing that Epper would at some stage try to get a glimpse of the inscription on its side. Indeed, Epper did soon appear at St Peter's, and del Piero instructed his men to let Epper and his team leave unhindered until they had sent their teammates a message indicating they had been successful. Del Piero had Epper, Zoe Kissane and Fuzzy brought to him one day before the Rotation event in Frankfurt, gloating about the Church's imminent victory before introducing Alexander to them. He then informed the group of what he had learned from intercepts regarding a confrontation between Jack's group and the CIEF at the Hanging Gardens of Babylon and how Jack had apparently perished, before moving on to tell them he would be taking them to Giza to witness his victory. Soon after arriving at the Luxor airport, del Piero's men waited for him to give the order to move in and ambush the CIEF forces as they arrived with the Pieces, and when he did they cut the Americans down. Del Piero eagerly moved in to claim the Capstone Pieces in the cases, but upon opening one found only bricks and a note warning del Piero not to let the blood get on him. Realising he had been led into a trap, the Catholic Father watched as his forces were blindsided, and the blood-spattered man was left spared. Once Judah landed with the real Capstone Pieces, he disdainfully noted the blood on him. After introducing the former Nazi Hans Koenig, Judah noted del Piero's captives, and decided that he would do the same thing to del Piero in allowing him to watch him achieve his victory. After watching Judah's men reveal the tomb of Alexander, del Piero was brought along inside the tomb to see Judah claim the upper-most Piece of the Capstone. When they reached inside, del Piero was nervous as Epper revealed the measurements Koenig scanned of the tomb were the same as St Peter's, the Basilica having being designed to replicate the tomb's interior, a fact del Piero had obviously known about from his time within the Church. When they arrived at Alexander's coffin, del Piero pleaded for Judah's men to be careful with it, but was ignored. Shortly after arriving at the scaffolding on the Great Pyramid, Judah revealed to Alexander that the Oracle of Siwa was intended to sacrifice their life to fulfill the ritual of power, a fact that del Piero had known. The boy glared at the Jesuit, but del Piero was unable to mention the Church's true plan before Judah forced Alexander to enter the recess between the Pyramid's peak and the restored Capstone. During the ritual of power, the remainder of the Coalition team assaulted the CIEF team from the hovering Halicarnassus. During the chaos, del Piero attempted to reach Alexander in the recess, only for Judah to stop and shoot him in the head, with the priest's blood and brains spattered over the Capstone. After Death After del Piero's death, the Church appointed Mendoza to take del Piero's place. Mendoza would mistakenly come to believe that Jack West Jr was the one to kill del Piero, and as a result followed the Australian's life and career with interest. (The Five Greatest Warriors, The Four Legendary Kingdoms) When Lily heard Iolanthe Compton-Jones note how the strong rule over the weak, the phrasing the Royal used led Lily to recall del Piero having said something similar. (The Six Sacred Stones) When Mendoza finally met Jack during the Great Games of the Hydra, he noted del Piero's conviction for the Church and his belief that Jack killed him. While Jack didn't dispute the claim, he did reply that del Piero had gotten what he'd deserved. (The Four Legendary Kingdoms) Personality Behind his constantly severe expression, Father del Piero is a maniacally devout member of the Catholic Church, serving as an inspiration to other members of the religious organisation. Though some claim him to be a good Catholic, del Piero is willing to use or kill people to achieve the Church's goals, while also taking pride and joy in his enemies' shortcomings. However, when the odds are against him, del Piero suddenly becomes very meek and less boastful, yet remaining open for opportunities to take victory away from his enemies. Trivia *In The Four Legendary Kingdoms, Mendoza mistakenly believed Jack was the one who had killed del Piero, this may have been either Mendoza recieving the wrong information, or else it was a mistake by Reilly. **In addition, Mendoza also believed that del Piero had been thrown into a plane engine; ironically this was actually the fate of del Piero's actual killer, Judah. Category:Characters Category:Huntsman Characters Category:Italian Characters Category:Antagonists Category:Catholic Church Category:Deceased Characters Category:Seven Ancient Wonders